It wasn’t very lengthy after the the Houston Astros’ commerce for Yusei Kikuchi — a deal virtually everybody hated — earlier than it started to pay dividends. After making some minor adjustments, Kikuchi rapidly grew to become one of many Astros’ finest pitchers and a key cog throughout their playoff push. As it seems, the Astros may have already pulled a really related trick with Tatsuya Imai — one in every of their high offseason acquisitions.
Everyone already knew the Astros have been going to lean heavily on Imai after signing him this previous offseason. There have been some issues that his arsenal would not translate in opposition to MLB hitters, however his efficiency this spring (up to now, anyway) has tamped down a lot of these fears within the short-term.
As it seems, that may not simply be Imai being Imai and the remainder of the world realizing it. According to an article from the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young, Imai made a change to his delivery with the Astros’ help, and it instantly unlocked extra velocity and even nastier stuff.
Tatsuya Imai’s adjustment might find yourself making him higher than the Astros thought
It’s nonetheless a little bit unclear whether or not Imai got here up with the adjustment himself and the staff agreed, or if the experimentation began at Houston’s suggestion. However, what we all know is that the change concerned him being extra environment friendly to the plate whereas utilizing a mound that’s totally different from what he’s used to.
Imai started toying with the adjustments again in Japan and continued the method this spring. MLB mounds are usually steeper than these utilized in Japan, and that meant Imai knew he wanted to adapt.
Understandably, the Astros appear to be thrilled with the result up to now. Houston supervisor Joe Espada went on the file to say, “It looked like he sees the end of spring coming, and he’s getting ready for the season. Just overpowering stuff.” Hard to get a more ringing endorsement than that.
Of course, that is spring coaching we’re speaking about, and Imai’s success in MLB goes to be dictated by how he pitches in actual video games. However, everything Imai is doing is passing the eye test proper now, and there have already been notable positive factors this spring. Given Imai’s willingness to adapt and enhance, this may solely be the start.
